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Feb. 25 (UPI) — The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions Wednesday on more than 30 people, entities and vessels that it said are “enabling illicit Iranian petroleum sales and Iran’s ballistic missile and advanced conventional weapons production.”

The sanctions are part of the federal government’s pressure campaign against Iran.

The vessels targeted are part of Iran’s “shadow fleet,” which the department said in a press release “serve as the regime’s primary source of revenue for financing domestic repression, terrorist proxies and weapons programs.”

“Iran exploits financial systems to sell illicit oil, launder the proceeds, procure components for its nuclear and conventional weapons programs and support its terrorist proxies,” said Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement. “Treasury will continue to put maximum pressure on Iran to target the regime’s weapons capabilities and support for terrorism, which it has prioritized over the lives of the Iranian people.”

The vessels sanctioned are: Hoot, Ocean Koi, North Star, Felicita, Ateela 1, Ateela 2, Niba, Luma, Remiz, Danuta 1, Alaa and Gas Fate.

The organizations sanctioned are: Poros Maritime Ventures S.A., Ocean Kudos Shipping Co Ltd., Mistral Fleet Co Ltd., Vast Marine Inc., Behengam Tadbir Qeshm Shipping and Maritime Services Company, Paros Maritime S.A., Wansa Gas Shipping Co., Goldwave Maritime Services Inc. and Ithaki Maritime and Trading S.A.

OFAC also targeted the following entities based in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that have aided in the purchase of precursor chemicals and sensitive machinery for Iran. They are Iran-based Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company; Turkey-based Utus Gumrukleme Gida Tekstil Ithalat Ihracat Dis Ticaret ve Sanayi Limited Sirketi, Turkey-based Arya Global Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Turkey-based Altis Tekstil Makina Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Altis), Iran-based Adak Pargas Pars Trading Company and UAE-based Mostafa Roknifard Prime Choice General Trading LLC.

Four people being sanctioned are Iran-based Mohammad Abedini, Mehdi Zand, Mehrdad Jafari and Ebrahim Shariatzadeh. They are allegedly employees of Iran’s Qods Aviation Industries, which was sanctioned in 2013.

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Feb. 25 (UPI) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro signed a formal request to begin convening a National Constituent Assembly, joining members of his Cabinet at a ceremony in Cartagena.

The initiative, the government said, responds to what it describes as an “institutional blockade” that has hindered approval of several social and economic reforms promoted by the executive branch.

The call for a constituent assembly, already authorized by the relevant electoral authority, requires support from more than 2 million citizens, equivalent to 5% of the national voter registry.

A citizen-led committee has been formed to gather the required signatures within six months. The committee aims to collect 3 million signatures, although Petro had previously suggested a goal of 10 million, local newspaper El Espectador reported.

Petro has been the main advocate of the initiative to reform Colombia’s Constitution. He first raised the possibility of a constituent assembly nearly two years ago and revived the proposal in recent months.

The president has framed the effort as a way to “deepen social reforms” that he argues are necessary for Colombians. He has said the proposals would be of “popular initiative” and that “any citizen will be able to submit proposals,” although they would ultimately be subject to the decision of a citizen committee.

Opposition sectors have criticized the proposal because it would unfold during an active electoral calendar.

Critics argue that the signature-gathering process could allow government-aligned figures, including public officials, to campaign in ways that benefit left-wing candidates in the March congressional elections and the May presidential vote, newspaper El Tiempo reported.

Petro has outlined nine thematic areas that would guide the constituent debate. These include changes to the pension system, healthcare, education, public utilities and the mining code, as well as initiatives related to data sovereignty and artificial intelligence.

He has also proposed deepening agrarian reform and strengthening Colombia’s adaptation and mitigation efforts in response to climate change.

The proposal also calls for a new territorial framework for the country, a judicial reform and changes to the political and electoral system, including adjustments to campaign financing, mandatory voting and recall mechanisms.

It further contemplates immediate legislative implementation of the 2016 peace accords with former guerrilla group FARC, policies addressing drug trafficking and measures aimed at comprehensive national security.

The possibility of holding a constituent assembly remains in its early stages.

If the required number of signatures is reached, the proposal must be debated in Congress. If lawmakers approve it, a national referendum would be called for voters to decide whether to convene the assembly, El Expreso reported. The process also would require review by Colombia’s Constitutional Court.

Colombia continues to navigate the fragile aftermath of more than five decades of armed conflict. Although the 2016 peace agreement formally ended hostilities between the state and the FARC-EP rebels, sustaining peace has proven far more complex than signing it.

This episode follows former members of the national army accused of carrying out the so-called “falsos positivos” (false positives) — extrajudicial executions in which innocent civilians were executed, then falsely presented as combat casualties by the government as a way to bolster the numbers of enemies killed. Soldiers testified to their involvement in the assassinations to the families of the victims as part of the peace process. We also explore the suffering and anguish of those who have had their families devastated by these killings.

Their testimonies unfold within the framework of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the justice mechanism established under the peace agreement between the Colombian state and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP).

The JEP applies a model of transitional and restorative justice centred on victims and with full guarantees of due process. Its mandate is to investigate, prosecute and sanction those most responsible for serious human rights violations. The system provides two pathways: a restorative process for those who acknowledge responsibility, provide full truth, and contribute to reparation and guarantees of non-repetition; and an adversarial process for those who do not.

Currently, more than 17,000 individuals are appearing before the JEP, including former FARC-EP members, members of the armed forces, and civilian third parties. The jurisdiction has issued indictments for maximum responsibility, delivered restorative and adversarial sentences, and conditionally waived criminal prosecution for non-most-responsible participants.

A film by Fatima Lianes

Feb. 25 (UPI) — Two-third of the 129 journalists killed around the world while doing their jobs in 2025 were at the hands of Israel, said a new report out Wednesday.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said its annual tally of journalists and media workers killed, the worst in the more than three decades since it started collating the data in 1992, came amid armed conflict at historically unprecedented levels globally.

A record 86 members of the press were killed by Israeli fire, up from the previous record of 85 in 2024, more than 60% of whom were Palestinian reporters from Gaza. The others were killed in Lebanon, Yemen and Iran, said the New York-based CPJ.

There were nine recorded journalist killings in Sudan for the year, six in Mexico, four in Russia — with that figure incorporating Ukrainian press members killed by Russian forces — and three in the Philippines. A dozen-and-a-half other countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America accounted for the remaining 21 deaths.

Of the 129 total, CPJ said 47 were documented targeted killings, which CPJ classifies as murder.

“Within the context of rising conflict worldwide, Israel’s disregard for the lives of journalists — and the international laws intended to protect them — is unparalleled. Israel has now killed more journalists than any other government since CPJ began collecting records in 1992, making the Israel-Gaza war (which incorporates Israel’s killings in Gaza as well as its lethal attacks in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran) the deadliest on record for journalists.

“Three of these killings, including one murder, occurred after the October 2025 ceasefire,” the committee said.

The CPJ said the surge in killings globally was being driven by an entrenched climate of impunity for attacks on press and media workers in which action to find and hold those responsible to account was increasingly rare.

“There have been almost no transparent investigations into the targeted killings in 2025 — the highest number of journalists deliberately killed for their work in the past decade — and no one has been held accountable,” said the CPJ.

“These killings of journalists violate international humanitarian law, which stipulates that journalists are civilians and should never be deliberately targeted,” it added.

That impunity emboldened those intent on silencing journalists, including in countries where there is no current armed conflict.

CPJ warned that the rise in killings was a reflection of the wider risks confronting press freedom amid the chilling effect of efforts to discredit journalists, abuse of the law to try to make fair, accurate and balanced reporting a crime and inflammatory rhetoric and harassment online, even in Western “liberal democracies.”

“Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever. Attacks on the media are a leading indicator of attacks on other freedoms, and much more needs to be done to prevent these killings and punish the perpetrators,” warned CEO Jodie Ginsberg.

“We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting the news,” she added.

Feb. 25 (UPI) — Dr. Casey Means is scheduled to appear before the Senate Wednesday to discuss her confirmation to become surgeon general.

Means, 38, a friend of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wellness influencer and Make America Healthy Again advocate, was scheduled to appear in October before the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pension Committee virtually because she was pregnant with her first child. But it was postponed because she went into labor.

Her brother, Calley Means, is a lobbyist and senior adviser to the Health and Human Services Department.

She attended Stanford University for undergrad and medical school. She published a 2024 book, Good Energy, in which she described quitting her residency at Oregon Health and Science University. She had completed almost all of the five-year residency but said she was disillusioned with modern medicine. She advocates for healthy eating, limited pharmaceutical use and alternative remedies.

Her medical license lapsed in January 2024.

Because of this, she has faced questions over qualifications for the job, which would give her the authority to issue warnings and advisories for Americans.

HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said that Means’ “credentials, research background, and experience in public life give her the right insights to be the surgeon general who helps make sure America never again becomes the sickest nation on Earth.”

Kennedy recommended Means to President Donald Trump, who nominated her in May. Trump had withdrawn his previous nomination, former Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.

Means has said she is for “unbiased research” in the childhood vaccine schedule. She has specifically questioned the safety of the hepatitis B vaccine being given soon after birth.

“I bet that one vaccine probably isn’t causing autism, but what about the 20 that they’re getting before 18 months?” CNN reported she said on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2024.

There is no evidence that vaccines cause autism.

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (UPI) — The United States and South Korea will kick off a major joint military exercise next month, both countries announced Wednesday, as they prepare for the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul.

The annual springtime Freedom Shield exercise will take place March 9 to 19 and will incorporate “realistic threats, including lessons learned from recent conflicts … to further strengthen the Alliance’s readiness and capabilities through combined, joint, all-domain operations,” the militaries said in a joint statement.

“This exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for a conditions-based wartime operational transition, consistent with alliance agreement,” the statement added.

South Korea is looking to complete the handover of wartime command from the United States before President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term ends in 2030.

The exercise will feature computer simulation-based command post exercises as well as “Warrior Shield” field training, the allies said.

Freedom Shield comes as the Lee administration attempts to improve frayed relations with Pyongyang, which frequently condemns the allies’ joint drills as rehearsals for an invasion.

Local media have reported that Seoul is proposing scaling down field training during this year’s exercise — a move that Washington has allegedly resisted.

At the summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises in August, half of the 40 planned field training exercises were rescheduled to later in the year.

“Complex combined exercises often require additional coordination, looking at the scale and sequencing of these events,” Col. Ryan Donald, public affairs director of U.S. Forces Korea, said at a press conference Wednesday. “The important thing to remember is Freedom Shield and Warrior Shield will go on this March as a major defensive-oriented exercise.”

In addition to U.S. and South Korean forces, personnel from other member countries of the United Nations Command will join the exercise, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will observe to monitor compliance with the Armistice Agreement.

“You’ll see U.S., South Korean and United Nations Command member states participating in tough, realistic, demanding training — and that is the real measure of the alliance,” Donald said.

Col. Jang Do-young, public affairs director of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the press conference that field training exercises were still being coordinated.

He added that March’s Freedom Shield will not include scenarios directly related to a North Korean nuclear attack, but would include training for “deterrence of nuclear threats.”

Last week, a South Korean lawmaker said that Pyongyang is planning to hold a large-scale military parade to show off its latest weapons at the conclusion of the ongoing Workers’ Party Ninth Congress.

Feb. 25 (UPI) — Australian police evacuated Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from his official residence in Canberra for several hours after a bomb hoax related to a classical Chinese dance and music troupe touring the country that is banned by Beijing.

The New York-based Shen Yun group was sent an email threat on Tuesday saying that explosives had been planted at The Lodge in the Australian capital and would be detonated unless the troupe pulled out of the tour, the BBC and Australia’s ABC News reported.

“Large quantities of nitroglycerine explosives have been placed around the Australian Prime Minister’s Lodge, located on Adelaide Avenue in the Deakin area of Canberra, Australia. If you insist on proceeding with the performance, then the Prime Minister’s Lodge will be blown into ruins and blood will flow like a river,” read the email.

The group is part of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is proscribed in China due to its opposition to the Chinese Communist Party, with the United States and other countries accusing Beijing of a brutal campaign of suppression to deprive its estimated 20 million adherents of their rights to freedom of religion and belief.

The government says the group is a dangerous cult.

Australian authorities confirmed only that they had dealt with an “alleged security incident” at Albanese’s home but that “nothing suspicious was located.”

Police said they evacuated Albanese to a safe location for several hours on Tuesday evening local time.

ABC News said there was no evidence the incident was in any way connected to the Chinese government, citing an anonymous Australian government source as saying a member of the local Chinese community opposed to Falun Gong could have been behind the incident.

The Queensland venue where Shen Yun’s tour was due to kick off on Wednesday evening was evacuated by police on Monday after an “unverified threat” linked to the group was made against the iconic Home of the Arts complex in Surfers Paradise, 45 miles southeast of Brisbane.

A search of the site by officers found no suspicious items, police said, but Experience Gold Coast said it had tightened security for the Shen Yun performances being staged at the venue through Sunday.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust arrangements if required as the safety of our team and patrons is always our first priority,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

A similar bomb-hoax incident in February 2025 forced the evacuation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on the day Shen Yun was due to open a 12-date tour, starting at the Kennedy Center.

A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center told The Washington Post that the threat was targeted at Shen Yun performances.

In 2024, Chinese residents of Los Angeles John Chen and Lin Feng were sentenced to 20 months and 16 months in prison for working for the Chinese government to get Shen Yun’s tax exempt status in the United States revoked by paying bribes to an undercover agent posing as an IRS staffer.

In a wiretap transcript submitted by the Justice Department, Chen is quoted as stating the bribes were to facilitate China’s aim of “toppl[ing]” Falun Gong, while in another Chen and Feng discuss orders from a Chinese government official, including deleting the instructions to avoid detection as well as procedures to notify the official if their bribery scheme failed.

A DOJ news release at the time said the Chinese Communist Party designates Falun Gong as one of the “Five Poisons,” or one of the top five threats to its rule, with Falun Gong adherents routinely subjected to “repressive and punitive measures”, including imprisonment.

However, Shen Yun has reputational issues around alleged abusive practices and behavior by the group.

In November 2024, a lawsuit was launched alleging forced labor and trafficking, while dozens of performers described being badly treated by the group in interviews given to the New York Times.

Shun Yen denies any wrongdoing, alleging the lawsuit and complaints were part of an ongoing, politically driven smear campaign by the Chinese government.

Feb. 25 (UPI) — The Supreme Court‘s ruling to limit President Donald Trump‘s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs is forcing the administration to look to different statutory authorities to carry out its trade policy.

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the president could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to generate revenue through tariffs. While this caused Trump to seek another avenue to impose tariffs, landing on a global 15% rate through Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, his plans to use tariffs to negotiate trade deals have not changed.

The decision impacts a great deal of the tariffs Trump has enacted during his second term, Purba Mukerji, professor of economics at Connecticut College, told UPI. She said he has been using the IEEPA to give himself “flexibility” in trade negotiations since returning to the White House.

Trump expressed disappointment in the high court’s decision on Friday but Mukerji said it was expected by economists and is unlikely to disrupt the president’s broader economic policy. Tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as those that target certain sectors, are likely to remain in place.

U.S. markets have not strongly reacted to the Supreme Court ruling in either direction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by less than a point on Monday, only to rebound on Tuesday. The S&P 500 followed a similar path.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes has reflected some uncertainty, though concerns about AI displacing workers, global tensions and broader trade concerns may be factors as well.

“For the business leaders who make decisions, for importers and exporters and foreign countries that are dealing with us in their trade negotiations, this is not a surprise,” Mukerji said. “So I don’t think there will be any long-lasting consequences of this particular Supreme Court ruling, except to put the whole trade negotiations and trade policy on much firmer footing.”

Consumers hoping to see prices come down are unlikely to see significant changes from the ruling either, Mukerji added.

“As far as consumer prices go, I am encouraged by the fact that we didn’t see the rise in consumer prices that was expected in all sectors coming out of tariffs,” she said. “I don’t expect that to be coming down in the future. I don’t think much will change on the ground.”

A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published earlier this month reports that 94% of Trump’s tariffs imposed last year were paid by U.S. entities and consumers during the first eight months of 2025.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported in December that it had collected $200 billion in tariff revenue. The largest portion of tariffs collected was on imports from China, a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said. The report is based on data from the U.S. Treasury Department and Census Bureau.

We Pay The Tariffs, a coalition of more than 800 small businesses, is circulating a petition to call for the federal government to refund businesses due to the tariffs being ruled unlawful.

“A legal victory is meaningless without actual relief for the businesses that paid these tariffs,” Dan Anthony, executive director of the organization, said in a statement. “The administration’s only responsible course of action now is to establish a fast, efficient and automatic refund process that returns tariff money to the businesses that paid it.”

It remains unclear what will happen to the revenue the court ruled has been unlawfully collected. The Supreme Court did not address refunds for tariffs paid.

Mukerji said reimbursing collected tariffs poses some practical challenges. She explained that while the United States maintains a database of who has paid what tariffs, it often shows a delivery company, like FedEx, as the entity that made the payment, not the importer who in reality incurred the costs.

“So you kind of have to reimburse FedEx, who then turns around and reimburses the importer,” she said. “That is a mess because then we depend on the account keeping, say by FedEx, so it becomes more complicated there.”

There is also a matter of fairness as some wholesalers pass the costs of tariffs on to retailers, who then pass them on to consumers, Mukerji said.

Following the court’s decision, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration will look to Section 122, as well as Section 301 of the Trade Act and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 tariff authorities to pursue “virtually unchanged tariff revenue” this year.

These statutes notably do not require congressional approval to impose tariffs like the Supreme Court affirmed the IEEPA did.

Section 122 gives the president the authority to impose a maximum 15% tariff for up to 150 days. Tariffs imposed under this authority would remain in effect into July at the latest.

Section 301 of the Trade Act gives the president the authority to impose tariffs in response to unfair trade practices, theft of intellectual property and discriminatory policies by trade partners. An investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative must be completed to determine if there is a violation and allow for the use of Section 301 authority.

Trump’s broad tariffs on China were issued in 2018 under the authority of Section 301.

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act allows the president to impose tariffs and other trade restrictions on imports if they are determined to threaten national security. This must be preceded by an investigation by the Commerce Department into the potential of a threat.

Trump used Section 232 to place tariffs on steel and aluminum during his first term.

While President Joe Biden peeled back on many of Trump’s policies when he came into office, he kept some trade policies like these largely intact and reinforced them through investigations.

For Section 301 tariffs, Biden allowed the required four-year review to continue throughout his term, ultimately raising tariffs on electric vehicles from China as well as some semiconductors, critical minerals and other sectors.

For Section 232 tariffs, Biden kept Trump’s tariff framework largely in place and continued to use the national security justification to keep tariffs as a point of negotiations.

“Biden actually made them stronger,” Mukerji said. “Most of them continued under Biden and they were extended and made even stronger. So these trade policies now have the strength of a solid foundation. These stand on the shoulders of investigations so they have this lasting power.”

The Supreme Court’s decision has caused some ongoing negotiations to shift or pause.

Earlier this week, a planned meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, D.C., was put on hold. The sides were planning to meet for three days to discuss an interim trade deal that would likely go into effect in April.

The European Union’s parliament canceled a vote to ratify a trade deal with the United States on Monday in response to the Supreme Court decision and Trump’s subsequent new tariffs.

“A deal is a deal,” the European Commission said in a statement on Saturday. “As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. to honor its commitments set out in the Joint Statement — just as the EU stands by its commitments.”

With the Supreme Court’s decision, the Trump administration and future administrations definitively have one less tool to use when imposing tariffs. The ruling does not mark an end to Trump’s tariff plans. It only clarifies his authority to impose tariffs. Meanwhile, the president is left to negotiate trade deals under greater scrutiny.

London, United Kingdom – Legal experts have documented almost 1,000 incidents in which pro-Palestine voices have been allegedly targeted in the United Kingdom, data that they say represents a “systematic effort” to repress the country’s solidarity movement.

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) said on Wednesday that it has verified 964 cases of “anti-Palestinian repression” from January 2019 until August 2025, including students being investigated over their solidarity, activists being arrested, employees facing disciplinary procedures and artists having their events cancelled.

The findings of the study, carried out in collaboration with researchers at Forensic Architecture, are a “sample indicative of a far wider and deeper pattern”, said the group comprising lawyers and legal officers.

The ELSC pitched the report as an Index of Repression, a database that is open to the public.

“We’re launching this database to show that repression of the Palestine solidarity movement in Britain is pervasive,” Amira Abdelhamid, ELSC’s director of research and monitoring, told Al Jazeera.

One documented case involves a University of Warwick student who was reported to police by their university for carrying a sign that drew parallels between Israel and Nazi Germany during a campus rally in November 2023.

The student was arrested for “racial aggravation against the Jewish community” and investigated by their university. But in January 2024, after the ELSC stepped in, the police dropped the student’s caution and deleted all associated records. The university confirmed in March that there would be no further disciplinary action.

ELSC said “Zionist advocacy” groups, journalists and media outlets were involved in 138 incidents – including UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), a pro-Israel organisation that it said played a part in 29 of the documented cases.

“The goal of this analysis is to denaturalise this politically produced process,” the group said. “This strategic targeting across sectors represents a kind of division of repressive labour. It aims to dismantle solidarity at every stage, from the formation of political consciousness in universities and schools, to its expression in culture, to its organisation in public spaces.”

Another incident involved a football club’s kit manager who was dismissed after posting his views about Israel’s conduct on social media.

The case of Dana Abuqamar, a University of Manchester student, is also analysed in the database. The Home Office revoked her visa after she told Sky News that, after 16 years of Israel’s blockade of Gaza, “We are both in fear (of) how Israel will retaliate … but also we are full of pride.”

She later clarified that her comments were not in support of the October 7 attacks into southern Israel, during which more than 1,000 people were killed. The UKLFI reported her to the police and her university, but in 2024, she won a human rights appeal.

“The main immediate goal of this anti-Palestinian repression is to depoliticise the movement, to make it seem as though it’s not a legitimate political and ethical struggle, but rather a security problem, a problem of so-called anti-Semitism or a breach of compliance,” ELSC’s Abdelhamid said.“I don’t think that has succeeded … two years on we still see people resisting the repression happening in Britain [and] speaking up and acting for Palestine and against the genocide.”

Since Israel’s onslaught on Gaza began in October 2023, tens of thousands of Britons have rallied in support of Palestine.

According to YouGov, one in three Britons have “no sympathy at all for the Israeli side in the conflict” after Israel killed more than 70,000 people in two years and decimated the Gaza Strip.

The government, led by Labour leader Keir Starmer, has long been accused of cracking down on pro-Palestine solidarity because of a wave of arrests during demonstrations and due to its proscription of Palestine Action as a “terror” organisation – a ruling recently deemed unlawful by the High Court.

In January, Human Rights Watch said that its research found a “disproportionate targeting of certain groups, including climate change activists and Palestine protesters, undermining the right to protest freely and without fear of harassment”.

Feb. 25 (UPI) — Nobel Prize-winner and scientist Richard Axel announced he is resigning as co-director of Columbia University’s premier interdisciplinary brain research center following recent revelations of his relationship with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Axel announced in a statement that he was stepping down as co-director of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute “to focus on research and teaching in my lab.”

Several high-profile individuals have been fired, resigned and even arrested since late January when the Department of Justice released more than 3 million additional pages of information about its investigation into Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting his sex trafficking trial.

The files — and names they contain — have drawn intense public attention, as demands for accountability grow for wealthy and well-connected associates of Epstein whose ties to him have come under renewed scrutiny.

Axel’s relationship with Epstein was revealed in the recently released documents, showing the two corresponded since at least 2010.

“My past association with Jeffrey Epstein was a serious error in judgment, which I deeply regret,” Axel, 79, said.

“I apologize for compromising the trust of friends, students and colleagues. I recognize the problems that this has caused, and I will work to restore this trust. What has emerged about Epstein’s appalling conduct, the harm that he has caused to so many people, makes my association with him all the more painful and inexcusable.”

Axel told New York Magazine in 2007 that he first met Epstein in the 1980s. The documents recently released showed that the two frequently connected over the years since at least 2010.

Columbia said in a separate statement that it has seen no evidence that Axel violated any university policy or the law.

“However, Dr. Axel made clear that in light of this past association, and the continued fallout from the release of DOJ files, he felt it appropriate to relinquish his position as co-director,” the university said.

“The university agrees with this decision, while at the same time recognizing his extraordinary contributions to the university and his dedication to his colleagues, to his students and to science.”

The school said Axel was also resigning from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Axel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Linda Buck in 2004 for discoveries related to how the sense of smell works, specifically their identification of odorant receptor genes and how those receptors detect and process smell, according to the Nobel Prize.

Fallout from the Justice Department’s recent release of Epstein files has impacted the lives of several high-profile individuals, including former British Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson, who was arrested this week on suspicion of misconduct in public office over accusations of leaking government information in emails to Epstein.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew, was also recently arrested on similar charges over allegations that he passed confidential information to Epstein.

Chancellor says he wants to deepen trade relationship while making it fairer during visit that sees signing of several agreements.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has kicked off his inaugural visit to China with a focus on resetting trade relations and deepening cooperation.

Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Merz told Chinese Premier Li Qiang that Germany sought to build on the decades-old economic ties with China, while emphasising the need to ensure fair cooperation and open communication.

“We have very specific concerns regarding our ⁠cooperation, which we want to improve and make fair,” said Merz, in an acknowledgement of the strain faced by Germany’s manufacturing sector from Chinese competition.

Li, who met Merz shortly after his arrival in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, called on both sides to work together to safeguard multilateralism and free trade, in a reference to US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy that has upended the global trading system.

“China and Germany, as two of the world’s largest economies and major countries with important ‌influence, should strengthen our confidence in cooperation, jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade, and strive to build a more just and fair global governance system,” Li said.

During the meeting, representatives from both sides signed several agreements and memorandums, including on climate change and food security.

“We share responsibility in the world, and we should live up to that responsibility together,” Merz said, adding there was “great potential for further growth”.

He added that open channels of communication were essential, as he announced visits by several ministers in the months ahead.

‘More equal playing field’ sought

Reporting from Beijing, Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride said the visit, in which Merz was being accompanied by a large delegation of German business executives, was important for both Europe’s economic powerhouse and the world’s second-largest economy.

Alongside the signing of deals with Chinese companies, a key focus of Merz’s visit would be “looking for a more equal playing field when it comes to trade”, he said.

“There is a real concern in markets like the European Union about cheaper, sometimes subsidised Chinese products that are looking for markets other than the US, suddenly flooding other marketplaces such as Germany … undercutting many domestic manufacturers there,” he said.

Germany’s imports from China increased 8.8 percent to 170.6 billion euros ($201bn) last year, while its exports to China dropped 9.7 percent to 81.3 billion euros ($96bn).

McBride noted Beijing was seeking to pitch itself as a “responsible advocate of free trade compared to the sometimes unpredictable and chaotic tariffing policy of the US”.

He said the visit would also see Merz attend a banquet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and visits to German companies with strongly established presences in China, such as Siemens and Mercedes-Benz.

Geopolitics and human rights would also be on the table, he said, with Germany particularly concerned about Beijing’s support, tacit or otherwise, for Russia amid its war on Ukraine.

Western leaders court Beijing

Merz is the latest in a string of Western leaders to visit Beijing in recent months, including the UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Mark Carney, amid the fallout from Trump’s tariffs on long-established trade relationships.

The chancellor said on Friday he was going to Beijing in part because export-dependent Germany needs “economic relations all over the world”.

“But we should be under no illusions,” he said, adding that China, as a rival to the United States, now “claims the right to define a new multilateral order according to its own rules.”

A Russian professor specializing in Korean studies and teaching at a South Korean university, Andrey Lankov, has been detained by police in Latvia, where he was giving a lecture on North Korea, Russian media has reported.

Professor Lankov of Kookmin University in Seoul was detained in Latvia and was added to the Latvian authorities’ “blacklist,” Russian news outlet RBC reported Wednesday (Russian time), citing an interview with the professor.

“Andrey Nikolaevich is safe and awaiting the arrival of his lawyer. The Australian consul has been notified of the situation,” RBC quoted the lecture organizers as saying. The professor is reported to hold both Russian and Australian citizenship.

Citing a local Latvian report, the news outlet also said the professor was taken away by Latvian police officers during a lecture in Riga. The lecture, titled “North Korea: What the Leaders Want and Fear”, was supposed to focus on North Korea, it said.

RBC did not provide reasons for Lankov’s detention.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

China’s Commerce Ministry says the move against Japanese firms will prevent the remilitarisation of Japan.

Japan has strongly protested China’s move to restrict the export of “dual-use” items to 20 Japanese business entities that Beijing says could be used for military purposes, in the latest twist in a months-long diplomatic row between the two countries.

Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sato Kei said at a news conference that the move by China’s Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday was “deplorable” and would “not be tolerated” by Tokyo.

Companies affected by China’s export ban on dual-use items, or items that can be used for civilian or military purposes, include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ shipbuilding group, aerospace and marine machinery subsidiaries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan’s National Defense Academy, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Beijing said restricting the export of dual-use items to the Japanese firms was necessary to “safeguard national security and interests and fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation”, adding that the companies were involved in “enhancing Japan’s military strength”.

China’s Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday that it would also add another 20 entities to its export restrictions watchlist, including Japanese automaker Subaru, petroleum company ENEOS Corporation, and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation.

Chinese exporters must submit a risk assessment report for each company to ensure “dual-use items will not be used for any purpose that would enhance Japan’s military strength”, according to a statement on the Commerce Ministry’s website.

China has imposed similar restrictions on the US and Taiwan as a form of political protest, particularly over Washington’s ongoing unofficial support for the self-governed island. Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out using force for “reunification”.

Tokyo and Beijing have a historically acrimonious relationship, but diplomatic ties took a turn for the worse in November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told legislators that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, which could necessitate military action.

Japan has had a pacifist constitution which restricts its use of force, but an attack on Taiwan could legally allow Tokyo to activate its army, the Self-Defence Forces, Takaichi said.

Takaichi’s remarks were some of the most explicit regarding whether Japan could become involved in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and have been accompanied by a push to expand Japan’s military capability.

Beijing reacted with fury to Takaichi’s remarks, discouraging Chinese citizens from visiting Japan, leading to a major drop in tourism revenue from Chinese visitors.

In January, Beijing also imposed Japanese export restrictions on rare earths like gallium, germanium, graphite and rare earth magnets that could be used for defence purposes, according to the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank.

The CSIS said at the time that “these retaliatory measures underscore rising tensions between Beijing and Tokyo and serve as a pointed warning from China to countries that take explicit positions on cross-strait relations”.

Tokyo does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but several of its outlying islands, including Okinawa, are geographically closer to Taiwan than mainland Japan. Taiwan is also enormously popular with the Japanese public.

India’s PM Modi will mark his second visit to Israel with the two countries having deepened ties under the Hindu nationalist PM.

Feb. 24 (UPI) — The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling for an immediate, full and unconditional cease-fire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite the United States’ abstention and a failed U.S. bid to strip language identifying the Kremlin’s aggression.

The 193-member body met on the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion and voted 107 in favor, 12 against and 51 abstentions to adopt the “Support for lasting peace in Ukraine” resolution.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine thanked the nations for standing with Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

“These are the right and necessary steps,” he said on social media. “And we will keep working actively to achieve peace, together with our partners.”

Among nations that abstained in the vote were China and the United States.

Washington had proposed a motion of division to vote separately on two paragraphs in the resolution, but it failed in an 11-69 vote, with 62 abstentions.

Ukraine had staunchly objected to the U.S. motion.

“Weakening or removing this language would send a very dangerous signal that these principles are negotiable,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa of Ukraine said, describing the motion as “deeply concerning and cannot be accepted.”

Tammy Bruce, deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, said the war must end now, but that it “will require sacrifices and compromises” and called on “everyone to do all in their power to lower the rhetoric and engage in good faith.”

“As we’ve said, this resolution also includes language that is likely to distract from ongoing negotiations, rather than support discussion on the full range of diplomatic avenues that may pave the way to that durable peace,” she said.

“For this reason, the United States called for a vote on the two paragraphs and ultimately chose to abstain on the resolution.”

The move underscores the United States’ drift from Ukraine and its European allies under the Trump administration, which is seeking its own end to the war. It also aligns with Russia, whose deputy permanent representative, Anna Evstigneeva, told the Assembly that diplomacy is what is needed, not declarations, and that the U.N. resolution disregards Trump’s negotiations “to find a compromise.”

“Do not fall for it,” she said. “What you have before you is not an instrument of peace, it is an instrument of politicization.”

Russia began the war on Feb. 24, 2022, when it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine under the pretense of a special military operation to denazify its neighbor.

In the four years of war, Russia and its economy have been saddled with thousands of sanctions that have seen it turn to Iran, China and even North Korea for assistance, weapons and even foreign soldiers.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russia has suffered an estimated 1.2 million casualties and as many as 325,000 killed.

Ukraine has suffered about 55,000 soldiers killed in the war, according to Zelensky. About 20% of its territory has been illegally occupied by Russian forces. Russia has also been accused of unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

Russia is also being accused of weaponizing winter in an effort to break Ukraine’s resilience by depriving millions of electricity, heating and water amid freezing temperatures, Betsa told reporters in a press conference at the U.N. General Assembly with allied nations behind her.

“We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to ensure full accountability for crimes committed under international law,” she said. “Justice for victims is not optional.”

General Assembly Vice President Tania Serafim Yvonne Romulado, delivering remarks by the assembly’s president, Annalena Baerbock, emphasized that it was a permanent member of the Security Council who “continues to inflict untold suffering on the Ukrainian people” in violation of the U.N. Charter.

Nearly four million people are internally displaced, 5.7 million live as refugees and nearly one-third of Ukraine’s population, more than half of all children, have been forced to flee.

“We cannot allow the violation of international law to become the norm, and we must safeguard the founding principles of our Charter,” she said.

“And this Assembly can lead the way.”

Feb. 24 (Asia Today) — Major South Korean food companies are expanding cost-cutting and restructuring efforts after operating profits fell by as much as 30% last year amid a domestic demand slump and rising costs, industry officials said Monday.

Lotte Wellfood is running a voluntary retirement program for some employees as part of efforts to streamline its organization, according to industry sources.

The program targets workers 45 and older with at least 10 years of service. In addition to statutory severance pay, eligible employees with 10 to under 15 years of service would receive 18 months of base pay, while those with 15 years or more would receive 24 months, officials said.

The package also includes a 10 million won ($7,500) re-employment support payment and up to 10 million won ($7,500) in university tuition assistance per child.

Lotte Wellfood said it plans to pursue growth strategies such as developing major brands and expanding global business operations while improving organizational efficiency.

Binggrae carried out a similar voluntary retirement program in January, citing cost increases and weakening consumption, according to industry sources.

CJ CheilJedang has also signaled tighter management. Chief executive Yoon Seok-hwan told employees in a message earlier this month that the company needs “disruptive change and innovation,” outlining plans for business restructuring, financial improvements and organizational culture reforms.

The restructuring push follows a downturn in earnings. Industry data show operating profit last year fell 20.6% at CJ CheilJedang, 30.3% at Lotte Wellfood and 32.7% at Binggrae compared with a year earlier.

Companies have faced pressure from raw material price volatility, higher logistics costs and slowing consumer demand. Executives have also cited stronger consumer resistance to price increases, limiting their ability to pass through costs.

Some analysts cautioned that repeated short-term cutbacks could weaken competitiveness over time unless companies deliver results from new growth initiatives.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260224010007289

In a significant foreign policy shift, Bolivia has reopened its doors to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The move, confirmed on Monday, ends a nearly two-decade hiatus in bilateral efforts to stem drug trafficking.

Bolivian Minister of Government Marco Oviedo told local media this week that DEA agents were already operating in the country.

“The DEA is in Bolivia,” he said. “Just as the DEA is now present, we also have cooperation from European intelligence and police bodies.”

Oviedo explained that the initial focus of the law enforcement efforts would be to tighten border surveillance and dismantle trafficking networks.

He added that the cooperation with the DEA and European agencies was only the start of Bolivia’s expanded international efforts.

“We want neighbouring countries’ anti-narcotics agencies on board as well,” Oviedo said.

End to Morales order

The announcement marks an end to an order issued under former left-wing President Evo Morales in 2008, effectively expelling all DEA agents from the country.

Morales, the leader at the time for Bolivia’s Movement for Socialism (MAS), had accused the US of using drug enforcement efforts to pressure countries in Latin America to bend to its political and economic agenda.

Under Morales, all drug enforcement cooperation with the US came to a halt, and he refused to let DEA officers into the country, accusing them of destabilising his government. Diplomatic relations were likewise suspended.

In turn, MAS received strong support from rural parts of Bolivia, where the cultivation of coca, the raw ingredient in cocaine, is a key economic driver.

Bolivia, along with other Andean countries like Colombia and Peru, is a key producer of coca, which has traditional uses, including as a remedy for altitude sickness. Morales himself led a union of coca growers, or cocaleros, before taking office.

Advocates have accused the US’s militaristic “war on drugs” of harming impoverished rural farmers through the forced eradication of coca crops. Such campaigns, they argue, can leave farmers without a means of supporting themselves and their families.

MAS remained in power from the start of Morales’s term in 2006 until 2025, when its coalition fractured amid economic instability and internal fighting.

New political direction

In October 2025, two right-wing candidates proceeded to a run-off for the presidency: centrist Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party and a former right-wing president, Jorge Quiroga.

It was the first presidential run-off in modern times for Bolivia, and it marked a sharp turn away from two decades of socialist government.

Both candidates made improving the relationship with the US a central pillar of their campaigns, viewing it as essential to solving Bolivia’s severe economic crisis.

Paz, who was educated in Washington, DC, argued that normalising ties would attract the international investment needed to modernise the energy and lithium sectors.

Meanwhile, Quiroga, a conservative who studied at Texas A&M University, campaigned on a more aggressive platform, including fiscal austerity and security partnerships with the US.

His vice presidential candidate, Juan Pablo Velasco, is credited with popularising the tagline “Make Bolivia Sexy Again”, a twist on US President Donald Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again”.

Paz ultimately emerged as the victor in the race, with nearly 54.9 percent of the vote. After his inauguration in November, Paz moved quickly to fulfil his promises by restoring diplomatic ties with the US.

The US, meanwhile, called Paz’s presidency a “transformative opportunity” for the region.

Earlier this month, both Bolivia and the US agreed to appoint ambassadors to one another’s countries for the first time in nearly 18 years.

Uncertainty remains

But it is unclear to what extent the DEA will be operating in Bolivia. Left-wing leaders like Morales continue to have strong pockets of support, particularly in highland and rural areas.

Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo has said negotiations are still under way to finalise the specific areas of cooperation between his country and the DEA, as well as operational limits for the US agency.

A full agreement outlining the scope of the agency’s activities is expected in the coming months.

Since returning to office on January 20, 2025, Trump has intensified the US campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America, including by designating several major cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations”.

Trump has also pressured Latin American governments to take more aggressive actions against the illicit drug trade, using economic sanctions and military threats as leverage.

Already, in late December and early January, Trump has authorised two strikes on Venezuela on the premise of combating drug trafficking.

One, on December 29, targeted a port that the Trump administration said was used for drug smuggling. The second, on January 3, resulted in multiple explosions, dozens dead and the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He remains in custody in the US, where he faces drug trafficking and weapons possession charges.

Critics have argued that Trump’s anti-drug campaign has blurred the line between law enforcement and military activities.

The increasing use of military force against criminal suspects has raised concerns that human rights are being violated and legal processes circumvented, including through the use of extrajudicial killings.

One example has come as part of a military campaign called Operation Southern Spear.

On September 2, the US announced the first of nearly 44 “lethal kinetic strikes” against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

As many as 150 people have been killed in the attacks. Operation Southern Spear has continued, despite international organisations like the United Nations questioning its legality and calling for its end.

Feb. 24 (Asia Today) — Average household debt per borrower in South Korea rose to a record 97.39 million won ($73,000) at the end of last year, as mortgage lending expanded amid rising home prices, according to data released Monday by the Bank of Korea.

The figure marked the first time per-borrower debt has exceeded 97 million won, up 2.24 million won ($1,680) from a year earlier. Total household loan balances reached about 1,853 trillion won ($1.39 trillion), an increase of 51 trillion won ($38.3 billion) from the previous year.

The central bank said the average rose as overall loan balances increased while the number of borrowers declined slightly, pointing to a growing concentration of debt.

Mortgage loans accounted for much of the increase, particularly among borrowers in their 20s to 40s. The average mortgage balance for borrowers in their 30s climbed to 225.41 million won ($169,000), the highest among age groups.

Loans were concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, where home prices continued to rise. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, apartment prices in Seoul increased 13.5% last year, the steepest gain since 2021.

Despite a slowdown in new lending following the government’s Oct. 15 real estate measures, authorities are moving to tighten controls further as household debt approaches 2,000 trillion won ($1.5 trillion), a level widely viewed as a risk to economic stability.

The Financial Services Commission has said it will set a lower annual loan growth target than last year’s 1.8% and is considering imposing separate caps on mortgage lending, the core component of total loan management.

Regulators are also reviewing a plan to raise risk-weighted asset ratios on mortgage loans from 20% to 25%, a move that would effectively make banks more cautious in extending housing credit.

Major commercial banks have already begun reducing household loan balances in line with regulatory guidance. As of Sunday, the combined household loan balance of the five largest banks stood at 765.6 trillion won ($574 billion), down about 200 billion won ($150 million) from the end of January.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260224010007193

Feb. 24 (Asia Today) — South Korea will invest 19.8 billion won ($15 million) this year to support artificial intelligence-based content production, marking the largest government-backed funding initiative in the sector to date, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday.

The program, administered by the Korea Creative Content Agency, is designed to foster AI as a key growth engine for the content industry, offering support from early-stage development through global expansion.

Funding will be divided into three tracks – entry-level, leading-edge and collaborative – based on a company’s growth stage.

Under the entry-level track, small and medium-sized enterprises will be eligible for up to 200 million won ($150,000) per project. About 24 projects will be selected, focusing on genre convergence, extended reality and interactive content, as well as AI-based production platforms.

The leading-edge track will provide up to 700 million won ($530,000) per project for roughly 10 projects aimed at developing globally competitive AI-powered content. Officials said projects with strong overseas potential will receive priority.

The collaborative track will support partnerships between large or mid-sized companies and smaller firms, with up to 400 million won ($300,000) per project. Around 16 projects will be selected, a sharp increase from four last year.

Beyond financial aid, selected companies will receive legal, copyright and commercialization consulting, along with business matching and expert networking support.

An AI Content Festival will be held in the second half of the year to showcase supported projects and facilitate exchanges with domestic and international industry experts.

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the initiative is part of broader efforts to strengthen the country’s digital content ecosystem, while Korea Creative Content Agency said it aims to help companies translate production experience into sustainable business growth.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260224010007202

Feb. 24 (UPI) — The director of the Louvre in Paris, Laurence des Cars, resigned her post Tuesday, months after thieves stole more than $100 million in jewels from the museum, French President Emanuel Macron announced.

The president accepted Cars’ letter of resignation, Macron’s office said, and welcomed the “act of responsibility.” The statement said the museum needs “calm” and strength to carry out major security and modernization projects.

Cars faced grilling by the French Senate in October after the brazen daylight heist of the jewels. A group of four thieves used a basket lift mounted to a truck to enter the museum through a second-floor balcony window and make off with historic jewelry. The loot included crowns, necklaces, tiaras and brooches worth much more than the individual value of the gems and precious metal were the thieves to melt down the pieces to sell the parts.

Among the items stolen were items once owned by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais.

French lawmakers questioned the efficacy of the Louvre’s safety measures in the weeks after the crime.

Auditors determined that the museum had fallen “considerably behind” in upgrading its technical infrastructure and security. The authors of the report took issue with the Louvre’s acquirement of 2,754 items over eight years, one-fourth of which were on display. These items — and renovations of displays — represent an investment of $167 million, double what the Louvre allocated for maintenance, upgrades and building restoration.

The report recommended that the Louvre eliminate a rule that requires the museum spend 20% of its ticket revenues — $143 million in 2024 — on acquiring new works. This would allow the facility to redirect funds to update the building without additional state funding. Auditors said the museum could also lean more heavily on its endowment fund to make the upgrades.

US embassy services will be available in the illegal West Bank settlement of Efrat, starting on February 27.

The United States has announced it will soon provide in-person passport services at an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem said it would start providing the service for Efrat, located between the Palestinian towns of Bethlehem and Hebron, on February 27.

It will be the first time the US has “provided consular services to a settlement in the West Bank”, according to a US embassy spokesperson quoted by the Reuters news agency.

The embassy said it would plan similar on-site services in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, the illegal Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit near Bethlehem, and in cities within Israel, such ⁠as Haifa.

The US currently offers passport and consular services at its embassy in West Jerusalem as well ⁠as at a Tel Aviv branch office.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, home to 3 million Palestinians who seek the territory as part of a future state, are illegal under international law.

Nevertheless, far-right Israeli politicians have openly called for Israel to increase settlement expansion, or even annex the Palestinian territory.

This month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government approved measures to expand control over the occupied West Bank and claim large tracts of Palestinian territory as Israeli “state property”.

The move was roundly condemned by more than 80 United Nations member countries.

Much of the West Bank is already under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-government in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

According to the International Court of Justice, about 465,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied Palestinian territory, spread across some 300 illegal settlements and outposts.

Among them are an estimated tens of thousands of dual US-Israeli nationals. The Efrat settlement is home to many American immigrants.

US President Donald Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has said he opposes Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank. But his administration has ‌not taken any steps to curb Israel’s expanding settlement presence.

In addition to advancing settlements, Israeli forces regularly carry out violent raids, demolitions, and arrests in the occupied West Bank, where attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have also intensified, often under the protection of Israeli soldiers.

In January alone, at least 694 Palestinians were driven from their homes in the West Bank because of Israeli settler violence and harassment, the highest number since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza erupted in October 2023, according to the United Nations.